#ClimateLiteracy

Take a look at these two images.

The first is from NASA and when sharing it they state “July 2023 was the hottest month globally since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, measuring at 1.18°C (2.12°F) above NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s 1951-1980 baseline average.“

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The second image is from ECMWF and in its release they state “The month (July) is estimated to have been around 1.5°C warmer than the average for 1850-1900.”

Who’s right is it +1.18°C of warming or +1.5°C

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They are both right. The difference is NASA is using 1950-1980 as the baseline and ECMWF is using 1850-1900 as their baseline.

In the work we do (see my cover image) we use the ECMWF baseline of 1850-1900.

Using that baseline, 2023 so far, has warmed +1.28°C

We are expected to cross the +1.5°C of warming by about 2030 and +2°C by 2050, the impacts of which are now coming clearer into view.